|
Fall 2001-Winter2002 Circulate to: ____ Safety
____ Infection Control ____ Plant Operations ____ Other AHA/EPA Mercury Elimination In June, American Hospital Association (AHA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reaffirmed their commitment to the Health Environment Program (H2E) and kicked off the next phase of the effort to eliminate health care’s use of mercury and reduce overall waste created by patient care. The second phase of the program is concentrating on educating hospitals about the resources available to help them change waste management practices and on teaching hospital personnel how to accomplish the waste reduction goals. The five objectives of the phase are: · Spread the word to hospitals and health care leaders about the partnership’s goals. · Disseminate tools and resources to help accomplish these goals. · Create an awards program recognizing successful local efforts to eliminate mercury and reduce hospital waste. · Promote a pledge program for hospitals committed to the H2E goals. · Sponsor education efforts through AHA professional societies. “Our partnership with the AHA has produced the tools and programs hospitals need to help them reach the important pollution prevention goals,” said William Sanders, director of the EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, told AHA News. “Our goal is to get hospitals to participate in the program and use the tools we have developed.” The Ohio Hospital Association Board of Trustees signed a resolution on October 19, 2001 committing to the continuing efforts of Ohio hospitals and the medical community to eliminate mercury, reduce waste stream volume and the prevention of pollution. A copy of this resolution is available upon request. Waste Stream Training Two workshops focusing on improving hospital waste stream management are scheduled for March 2002 at the Children’s Medical Center in Cincinnati. The first workshop is a half-day session on March 11 at the Medical Center. The workshop will start participants in producing an action plan for achieving their hospitals’ goals of waste minimization and pollution prevention. Evaluations from the same workshop offered at MedCentral Hospital in Mansfield were very favorable. Since most of the costs of the program are underwritten by an Ohio EPA grant and Children’s Medical Center, the registration fee is only $10. The second workshop is a two and one-half day intensive training session scheduled at the same location from March 11 to March 13. The workshop is open to only eight registrants to ensure that the training is effective. The same workshop was offered at MedCentral Hospital in December 2001 and the evaluations were extremely positive. Again the expenses of the program are underwritten by the Ohio EPA grant and Children’s Medical Center, so registration fee is only $50. If you are interested please Susan Zabo or Rick Sites at OHA 614/221-7614 or by email susanz@ohanet.org or ricks@ohanet.org. Save Through Environmental Programs Hospitals could save an average of $20,00 per year by being more environmentally conscious, a resource conservation specialist with Kaiser Permanente says. At a conference last August it was said that the health care industry generates 4 billion pounds of waste annually and that most of it could be recycled or reused. “Health care providers are the fourth-largest producer of potentially harmful mercury emissions,” said Lynn Cole, Kaiser Permanente. The Californian spoke at the second annual joint conference of the AHA’s American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services, the American Society for Healthcare Central Service Professionals and the American Society for Healthcare Food Service Administrator. By using digital thermometers, reusable cups for employees and rechargeable batteries, hospitals could cut costs, improve their public image and improve safety for employees and the community they serve, she said. Cole also stressed that to implement effective waste management systems, the entire to hospital must be involved and success and progress must be tracked and recorded with milestones and achievements being celebrated. Funds to Support Projects Reducing Greenhouse Gas Visit the following site and click on the big green leaf! http://www.environmentsite.org It’s now easier than ever to save energy. Simply click the leaf icon at The Environment Site once a day, and your small investment of time will yield huge dividends for a project run by the Alliance to Save Energy. The Environment Site is a click-and-donate Web site that raises funds to support projects reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is no charge to the visitor and no personal information is required. Rather, sponsors, including Whirlpool, Johns Manville and Osram Sylvania, contribute 1 cent each time a user clicks on the leaf. Every user can click the leaf once a day. 100 percent of the donations are forwarded to specific Alliance programs for energy efficiency at schools, orphanages and hospitals in Ukraine—simultaneously helping kids and combating global climate change. The improvement of heating systems, replacement of broken and missing windows and other energy-efficiency measures will cut GHG emissions, lower energy costs, and also help children who otherwise would not have enough heating or decent air quality. For more information, check the Alliance press release: http://www.ase.org/media/newsrel/envirosite.htm Ohio’s Air Quality Improving Efforts by government and industry to reduce air pollution have been effective. Levels of most monitored air pollutants have dropped significantly in Ohio over the past 20 years, according to reports on air quality issued last July. The report analyzed air monitoring data collected between 1980 and 1999 for the six pollutants for which U.S. EPA has established national air quality standards. They include carbon monoxide, lead, ozone, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter. The monitoring was conducted at more than 200 locations around the state. Ohio EPA maintains one of the most extensive air monitoring networks in the country. "There's a good story to tell about air quality in Ohio, and I think more people need to hear it," said Ohio EPA Director Christopher Jones. He referred to a national poll conducted earlier this year by Environmental Defense of young adults (ages 18-25) and "baby boomers" (ages 45-55). A key finding was that a majority of both generations believed environmental conditions are worse today than 30 years ago. Jones said, "At least in Ohio, the facts clearly don't support that belief. Since 1970, environmental regulations and pollution control investments have resulted in significant, measurable improvement in Ohio's air and water." Cuyahoga and Jefferson counties were recognized in 2001 by the U.S. EPA as attaining federal air quality standards for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less. The U.S. EPA action to redesignate the areas to "attainment" from "nonattainment" was announced in July. This means that these areas are now meeting the health-based outdoor air quality standard for airborne particulates. All Ohio counties now comply with current national standards for outdoor air quality. Findings in the report include:
Fun Pollution Prevention Web Sites Instead of playing solitaire during your next down-time moment, play the Alliance Flash game, Clearing the Air. Help Frank, a man beset by high energy bills and rising pollution, save money and clean up his environment by changing out his old, inefficient appliances for new, EnergyStar appliances. http://www.ase.org/consumer/cleartheair/ The Department of Energy has set up a fun online energy lab for kids. Featuring Dr. E, a bespectacled monkey scientist, the new site has information about energy from wind, solar and geothermal sources, among others. Fluorescent Lights and Mercury Mercury is an essential ingredient for most energy-efficient lamps. Fluorescent lamps and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps are the two most common types of lamps that utilize mercury. Fluorescent lamps provide lighting for most schools, office buildings and stores. HID lamps, which include mercury-vapor, metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps, are used for street lights, floodlights and industrial lighting. A typical fluorescent lamp is composed of a phosphor-coated glass tube with electrodes located at either end. The tube contains mercury, of which only a very small amount is in vapor form. When a voltage is applied, the electrodes energize the mercury vapor, causing it to emit ultraviolet (UV) energy. The phosphor coating absorbs the UV energy, causing the phosphor to fluoresce and emit visible light. Without the mercury vapor to produce UV energy, there would be no light. A four foot florescent lamp has an average rated life of at
least 20,000 hours. To achieve this long life, lamps must contain a specific
quantity of mercury. The amount of mercury required is very small, typically
measured in milligrams, and varies by lamp type, date of manufacture,
manufacturing plant and manufacturer. Virtually an entire fluorescent lamp can be recycled, including end caps, glass tube, wire, mercury and phosphor powder. Glass products may incorporate glass from fluorescent lamps as feedstock to manufacture glass products. Lamp recyclers often sell the metallic portion as scrap metal. These recyclers recover mercury by retorting the lamps. After further purification, industries may reuse the mercury in electronic devices. By recycling lamps, natural resources will be conserved. Lamps that are properly collected and recycled are not subject to hazardous waste requirements. However, you should retain documentation showing that your company’s lamps were recycled. This information may include bills of lading, service agreements and billing statements, etc. Find a list, maintained by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, of florescent lamp recyclers in Ohio. Recycling is the preferred strategy for disposal of florescent lamps because it eliminates the risk to public health and the environment. http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dhwm/lamprecycler.html#ohio. Battery Round-Ups Many different types of batteries are in use in hospitals. Pagers, infusion pumps, fetal monitors, portable EKG monitors, flashlights, smoke detectors, and portable generators are just a small sampling of devices that use batteries in hospitals. Several types of batteries contain mercury and may also contain other heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. Many hospitals have battery— recycling programs for a portion of their batteries. Unfortunately, there is considerable confusion on proper management methods for battery disposal. This confusion can lead to poor capture rates and improper disposal of batteries into red bag waste. A battery round-up is an excellent way to provide education on the hazards associated with batteries, and on proper battery management to hospital staff and their families. It is also an excellent way to initiate, or improve upon, an ongoing, comprehensive battery collection program. Finally, they are an excellent follow-up to a mercury thermometer collection program. A battery round-up is a permanent hospital-wide battery collection and recycling program for employees and their family members. All non-mercury containing batteries are collected for proper disposal and all mercury-containing batteries are recycled. Within a hospital, a number of different types of batteries are utilized. Special care should be taken to separate each type individually, as they are disposed of in different ways, depending on their content. Batteries should not be incinerated. Many hospitals in Ohio have battery exchange programs. Three examples are East Liverpool City Hospital, MedCentral Hospital in Mansfield, and Mount Carmel Medical Center in Columbus. If you have a successful battery exchange program, or want to begin one e-mail Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org. Fisher-Titus Medical Center: Mercury Recycling Campaign Fisher-Titus Medical Center has held two mercury thermometer exchanges in Norwalk, and surrounding area. Almost 900 mercury thermometers were collected, $750 in donations. The hospital has continued and expanded its exchange program, so these numbers are higher now. The purpose of the program is to protect the health of local families and communities, reduce the risk of mercury contamination of the environment, educate the public about the hazards of mercury and provide community members the opportunity to be “part of the solution,” according to Lisa Meyer, director of environmental services at FTMC. Families are asked to collect all mercury-based thermometers from their homes and bring them to the collection point where they will be properly packaged and disposed. Each family receives a free digital thermometer from Fisher-Titus Medical Center. A $1 donation is requested to help defray the cost of collection materials. The efforts by FTMC have received state and national attention, with pictures from one of the exchanges posted on the Ohio EPA’s Web site and a picture published in AHA news. Several other hospitals in Ohio have conducted mercury thermometer exchanges. If you have held a thermometer exchange, send an email to OHA at ricks@ohanet.org so we can include your hospital in future press releases. Hospitals Working to Improve Community Health Concerned about the health of your community? Would you like to make a difference, and at the same time set a positive example for other hospitals in the state? Take the Mercury Challenge! OHA and the American Hospital Association (AHA) have partnered with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. EPA to support hospitals’ efforts to prevent pollution and reduce waste. One of the foremost goals is the virtual elimination of mercury from hospital waste streams by 2005. Mercury exposure causes damage to neurological and renal systems of developing fetuses and young children, and the primary means of exposure is through consumption of fish, which are contaminated when mercury waste leaches into lakes and rivers. Eliminating mercury from waste streams will end contamination at the source. All Ohio hospitals are urged to take the Mercury Challenge. Facilities design their own reduction goals and identify and implement prevention measures. The Mercury Challenge ensures that medical facilities that achieve their goals will be recognized in their community for their efforts. To date, several Ohio hospitals have submitted Mercury Challenge registrations: East Liverpool City Hospital, Trinity Medical Center East in Steubenville, St. Charles Mercy in Oregon, Highland District Hospital in Hillsboro, Fisher-Titus Hospital in Norwalk, Community Hospital of Springfield, Mercy Medical Center in Canton, McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital in Oxford, Mercy Hospital Anderson in Cincinnati, and Wright Patterson Air Force Base 74th Medical Group in Dayton. Available to assist hospitals are resources prepared by the Ohio EPA and OHA, including the Mercury Challenge Handbook. The handbook is online at www.epa.state.oh.us/opp/hospital.htm (scroll down -- it’s near the bottom of the page) and contains a variety of information including tips and checklists for implementing a program, lists of information resources, and an inventory of mercury containing products and their alternatives. The handbook also includes a form to register for the program. For additional information, contact Ellen Miller at the Ohio EPA, 614/644-2187 or ellen.miller@epa.state.oh.us or Rick Sites at OHA, 614/221-7614 or ricks@ohanet.org. Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Looking for a site that provides tools for hospitals seeking to improve environmental performance and includes resources about mercury, waste reduction, chemicals, green purchasing and technical resources? The site is a joint effort of the Environmental Protection Agency, American Hospital Association, American Nurses Association and Health Care Without Harm. Go to http://www.h2e-online.org/. OHA Environmental Leadership Council The Ohio Hospital Association Board of Trustees adopted a resolution October 19, 2001 creating the Environmental Leadership Council (ELC), composed of representatives of various hospitals and other pertinent organizations to provide leadership, peer support and technical resources to Ohio hospitals. The members of the committee are (chair) Mel Creeley and Daryl Seckman, East Liverpool City Hospital; Mohammed Ahmed, Doctor’s Hospital – Ohio Health; Margaret Baird, Fisher-Titus Medical Center; John F. Cappron III, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation; Robert Columber, Marion General Hospital; Lori Custis, Highland District; Keith Dempsy and Rose Heard, St. Charles Mercy Hospital; Carol Elder, Mt. Carmel Health System; Mike Kelly and Ellen Miller, The Ohio EPA; Michael McNulty, The University of Findlay; Kathleen Morris, Ohio Nurses Association; Patricia Reinhart, The OSU Medical Center; and Charles Waterman, Bricker & Eckler, LLP. The committee held its first meeting November 15, 2001 and discussed OHA Strategic Directions, Capacity Building for pollution prevention activities, Ohio EPA’s Pollution Prevention resources, and regulatory compliance. The committee also was updated on the Mercury Challenge. The next meeting of the committee is March 14, 2002. Educational Opportunities A telephone briefing will be held on January 29, 2002 from 11:30 – 12:30. The topic of this call will be EPA regulations. There is no charge for the call, as it will be paid for by the EPA grant. Future telephone briefings will be February 26 and March 26 with topics to be announced. More information will be forthcoming on these calls. Hold June 3-4 for the OHA annual summit. There will be full day sessions on EPA regulatory compliance and pollution prevention. Build a Successful Pollution Prevention Program Glenn McRae of CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc. suggests the following to build your successful P2 program. Develop an
Overall P2 Plan Set specific goals and objectives, coordinate all programs under one umbrella, centralize record keeping, and set clear measurable goals. Start with some small steps, the Mercury challenge is a system wide program with a specific set of predetermined goals. It is a good program to implement as a trial. Through it you can set up a framework for future pollution prevention planning and implementation. Monitor Your
Program Integrate “safety rounds” with a waste checklist, monitor the program for compliance and systems integrity, and enlist housekeeping supervisors to maintain programs daily. Maintain Your
Program Set a calendar to visit all units, check integrity of waste systems, segregation, labels and signage, container placement, and waste flows. Measurement Track errors in disposal, track waste volumes (all waste types), track waste costs (all waste types), correlate waste volumes with census and activity data, provide feedback to waste generators, review compliance with regulations and most of all know regulatory requirements of RCRA, OSHA, DOT, HAZ COM. OHA EnviroNews Editors: Rick Sites, OHA (ricks@ohanet.org), Glenn McRae,
CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc. (Glennmcrae@aol.com), Hollie Shaner, RN,
MSA, CGH Environmental Strategies, Inc. (Hshaner@aol.com), Susan Zabo, OHA
(susanz@ohanet.org) |
